


Mr Holmes and the Maid

by theSapphireSky



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Molly is the maid, Sherlock is a single father, early 1900s AU, need i say more?!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8242975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theSapphireSky/pseuds/theSapphireSky
Summary: Molly is quite happy being Mr Holmes' maid and caring for his three daughters. But what happens when she realises she is in love with him?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Heading off for a much-needed vacation, so I’m throwing this early-1900s AU out there. It’s been sitting in my draft folder for ages, so I finished it up quick and am gifting it to all you lovely Sherlollians! Happy October 8th!

The warm sea air tugged at her hair, pulling it from the loose plait and brushing it across her face in a comforting caress. Here, in the quiet of her home village, Molly looked out across the moonlit water and for the first time in her life, felt she didn’t belong. 

Her heart ached for the home she’d made back in London. In the chaos of the city, the foggy nights and overcast days, the crowded streets and neverending noise.

The quaint flat on Baker Street.

The three cherubic girls with innocent smiles that belied the mischievousness in their twinkling eyes.

And their father.

Mr Holmes.

The reason she had run away.

oOo

She hadn’t meant to fall in love with him.

It started as awe; his brilliance and intelligence drew Molly’s thirsty mind to him. He had an awful manner with his ‘clients’, those who came to him for help. But he still helped them. And so Molly’s awe faded into a deep respect. 

She had expected him to be a distant father and that, in addition to being the housemaid, she would be the caregiver to the girls. But he surprised her. It had positively warmed her heart to see that he always was home to tuck them into bed with a story or lullaby on his violin; even the one time he had raced across London after having taken an unexpected dip in the murky Thames, his coat waterlogged and sweat mixing with the odor of the polluted waters. 

That was the first time Molly had stood up to him. She’d barricaded the stairs with her significantly smaller person, knowing he could pick her up and move her out of his way if he wanted, but she didn’t let that deter her. Arms akimbo and legs splayed, she’d demanded he rid himself of those clothes, burn them possibly, and at least rinse out his hair, before he came within ten feet of his girls.

He’d scowled, but begrudgingly did as he was told, muttering about bossy maids all the while.

And that night, as he’d regaled his daughters with the story of how he’d captured the criminal, despite having been shoved into the frigid Thames, Molly listened outside the door and smiled. Yes, it was obvious the girls adored him and he them.

More than a year passed in that manner. And Molly had been happy. Content. 

Until the morning everything changed.

She had walked into the sitting room and found Mr Holmes standing in the middle, his girls in various stages of climbing him. 

Georgina, the eldest, was sat upon his shoulders, her head nearly brushing the ceiling! Gillian, the middle child, had a latched herself onto his forearm and was dangling several inches off the floor, her feet kicking out. And Genevieve, the youngest at four now, had wrapped her arms and legs around his left leg, giggling as he pretended to have difficulty taking a step.

Their laughter filled the room and Molly’s heart. She watched unseen for a moment, smiling at the sight.

But then Mr Holmes looked up, that smile still on his face, and caught her gaze.

In that instant, the entire world faded away and one thought consumed her.

She loved him. 

Her smile faded and she found she couldn’t look away.

The spell was broken when Mrs Hudson called out as she came up the stairs, breakfast tray in hand.

Molly blinked and looked away, gathering her wayward thoughts before following Mrs Hudson into the kitchen area and setting about preparing the meal.

She’d gone through the motions and watched briefly as Mr Holmes and the girls sat down. The entire scene was so homey and comforting, it filled her heart full to bursting.

Until the voice of reality broke over her like a pail of ice water.

_ This isn’t yours to have. _

If she’d given herself time, she could have talked herself into staying, pushing down whatever romantic notions her newfound feelings would bring and continuing on. But instead, she’d taken the cowardly way out and run that very night, away from the girls she adored and the man she loved. 

Suddenly her melancholy thoughts were interrupted by a chorus of shouts and the sound of running feet.

‘Miss Molly! Miss Molly!’ 

Heart skipping a beat, Molly gasped and she barely had time to whirl about before she found three pairs of arms wrapped around her, their grips like iron bands. She looked down to see three matching heads of black curls. 

‘Girls! What-What are you doing here?’

Georgina looked up at her, a frown on her face. ‘You ran away. We’ve come to bring you home.’

‘Obviously,’ Gillian contributed, her voice muffled in Molly’s skirts.

Mouth agape, Molly tried to make sense of their presence. If they had come all this way, they must have come with…

‘Miss Hooper.’

She looked up at the man stepping out of the shadows.

_ Mr Holmes.  _

oOo

Sherlock stared at the woman he loved. Her brown eyes were wide with shock and hope. His heart ached that she had run away in the face of her feelings for him. Had she really not known that his heart had belonged to her for some time now?

‘I don’t understand,’ she whispered. 

Sherlock approached her slowly, his hands clasped behind his back. ‘For an intelligent, brave, unconventional woman, Miss Hooper, you have acted very cowardly.’

She flushed with guilt and averted her gaze, regret bringing tears to her eyes. Her hands strayed to the girls’ heads, her fingers running through their curls. Warmth suffused his chest at the sight. She was more a mother to his daughters than that cowardly woman who’d born them and scampered off to her inevitable death. 

Stopping just out of reach, the girls still between them, he tilted her chin up with his finger. His stomach turned over at the shame in her chocolate brown eyes.

‘When faced with your feelings, you behaved like any average woman would in your situation. Thinking your feelings weren’t reciprocated, and fearing heartbreak should you stay, you fled.’ His soft smile belied the words he spoke next, ‘I should be frustrated with you for making me act like this.’

Her brow furrowed in question. Resting his hands on the girls’ shoulders, he never took his gaze from Miss Hooper’s. With a gentle push, the girls let go of her and moved away. He could see them from the corner of his eye, their eyes wide and hopeful. 

‘Only for you, Miss Hooper,’ he said softly, reaching out and cupped her face with his hands. He could feel the pounding of her heartbeat against his fingertips. ‘Only for you would I act like a romantic fool and chase after the woman I love.’

Her eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise. Slowly, he lowered his head. Her breath warmed his lips and he felt a tingle of anticipation. Then his lips touched hers and everything else fell away. 

oOo

The moment he kissed her, Molly’s eyes fell close and she knew she could never leave.

This. This was home. 

This was the comfort of long evenings sitting by the fire, reading to the girls. Listening to Mr Holmes play his violin.

This was experiments and cases, the thrill of an unexpected discovery.

This was inexplicable joy, the rush of knowledge that she is loved by this man utterly and completely.

Pulling back to breathe, leaving a shorter, gentle kiss on her lips, Mr Holmes smiled deeply, the lines around his eyes crinkling. Molly bit her lip shyly and smoothed down his lapels, not realising she had been grasping them in her fists.

‘Does this mean you’re going to be our mother?’ Genevieve interrupted excitedly.

The question brought Molly up short. But before she could stutter an answer, Mr Holmes looked down at her with a raised eyebrow and a wide smile.

‘What do you say, Miss Hooper? Molly?’ Her Christian name rolling off his tongue in that delightful baritone sent shivers down Molly’s spine. He stepped back and dropped down on one knee, taking her hands in his. ‘Will you be the mother of my daughters and take me in the bargain?’

Disbelieving, Molly gaped down at him. Her heart was thundering and she could barely form a coherent thought. His heart-stopping eyes were staring up at her so expectantly. She looked over at the girls and saw the same blue-green eyes staring back at her in triplicate.

Mr Holmes squeezed her hands to bring her attention back to him. He tilted his head toward the girls and quipped, ‘They’ll never forgive me if I let you slip away for good. Please don’t leave me at their mercy.’

Laughing, Molly finally nodded. ‘Yes, yes, of course! Of course, Mr Holmes!’

Tears of happiness slipped out of the corner of her eyes as Mr Holmes beamed and jumped up. His long arms came around her waist and he swung her around, to her exclaimed delight.

When he set her back down on her feet, he took a moment to press a kiss to her lips and say, ‘That’s ‘Sherlock’ to you,  _ Molly _ .’

They pulled apart slightly, Mr Holmes... _ Sherlock... _ keeping his arm around her waist, holding her to him, and turned to the girls, who rushed toward them. Molly lifted Gillian up, hugging her close. Georgina leaned into her side and Genevieve clamored for her father to pick her up. 

‘I shall call you  _ Mummy _ not Mother,’ Gillian told Molly quite seriously, a furrow in her brow.

Heart light, Molly beamed and nuzzled her nose against Gillian’s. ‘I’d love that.’

Sherlock looked down at her, love shining in his eyes. ‘Ready to go home?’

Smiling widely, Molly closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. ‘Yes, please.’


End file.
